America's Cup: All Blacks sue INEOS over sponsorship non-payment
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com 11 Feb 11:14 AEDT
11 February 2025
INEOS Britannia was the flagship for several of the major INEOS brands - 2024 America's Cup - Oct 18, 2024 © Ian Roman / America's Cup
Following the much publicised split in the INEOS Britannia America's Cup team, NZ Rugby has revealed that it is taking legal action against INEOS [Group], for alleged breach of a $NZD63million ($USD36million) sponsorship deal.
The deal was for NZD$21million (USD$12million) per year for six years. According to news reports, NZ Rugby claim they have not been paid for the first 2025 year's installment.
The All Black sponsorship covering both the mens and womens teams was one of the flagship sponsorship deals for the petrochemical conglomerate.
New Zealand Rugby said in a statement to the Daily Telegraph last Friday, that it was "left with no option" but to launch legal action over what it says is a breach of sponsorship agreement.
In the statement NZ Rugby alleged the company owned by British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe had pulled out halfway through a six-year sponsorship deal, leaving the national body looking for a sponsorship deal to fill the NZD63million budget hole left by the INEOS move.
In a statement released to Telegraph Sport, New Zealand Rugby said that INEOS, which agreed a six-year deal to become official performance partner to the All Blacks until 2027, failed to pay the first instalment of the 2025 sponsorship fee. The issue has apparently been simmering for several months.
New Zealand news sources had it that INEOS was wanting to exit from the last three years of the six year deal, and that triggered the non-payment of the first installment.
SportBusiness (UK) reported on January 24, that "INEOS, led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is currently undergoing a review of its sports investments amid a plan to shed what it considers “non-core assets”, according to sources close to the group."
A day earlier INEOS Britannia, the 2024 America's Cup Challenger announced that it was splitting from its skipper Sir Ben Ainslie, and his Athena Racing team.
INEOS’ sport division oversees its interests in football, sailing, Formula 1, cycling, and running. It has dropped its reference to Rugby.
Interestingly the All Black sponsorship is no longer featured on the www.ineos.com/sports website. For its part NZ Rugby are expected to remove the INEOS logo from the All Black's playing kit for the next international in July.
While that swap-out will cause some grief amongst the sponsorship team at NZ Rugby, fans will lose little sleep over the move. It was jus over a decade ago [2012] that there was intense debate at to whether there should be a break with a 107yr tradition of sponsor-less playing kit, when a six year deal was announced with US insurance multinational AIG. Unlike INEOS they let the six year deal, said to be worth $NZD80million, run its course announcing their intention not to renew 12 months before the end-date.
INEOS Sports website continues to carry confirmation of INEOS Britannia's intention to Challenge for the 38th America's Cup, without its skipper for the last two Cups, Sir Ben Ainslie and his team Athena Racing. For his America's Cup Challenge to progress Ratcliffe/INEOS need to find a new British club to lodge the Challenge on its behalf.
Ainslie's team website, where initially it talked of INEOS Britannia, now refers to the group as "INEOS and Mercedes F1".
No date has been set for an opening of entries for the 2027 America's Cup.